Confidence
by Draenog Glas Memorial
Summary: SCRAPPED. A young, strange boy who's mostly classified as a "loser" fights against a hotshot trainer to protect Whitlea. This was written before the English names were announced. Soon didn't work on it due to other overwhelming projects.


**Notes: Yes, I actually worked on more than Sonic fanfiction a long time ago. I actually did a Pokemon fanfiction I never ever finished.**

**The writing is okay for the most part, but I guess I soon became disinterested in it and it remained incomplete for a while. I was going to release it on the site along with the Draenog Glas account but I never did that. As soon as more of my Sonic projects got in the way this one was forgotten.**

**Please note that the writing is sort of rambling, as this character seems to do that.**

"Do you want to be the best?" I heard a television across from me screech out from its tiny speakers, loud and brassy. "Like no one ever was? Put your skills to the test, and challenge the Pokemon League! Fight the best trainers in the land and win your way to the Pokemon Champion! Show the Champion what you got and be crowned the Pokemon Master of Isshu! Are you game?"

Before I saw the usual "Paid for by the Pokemon League Commission" message that would quickly sputter at the end of the commercial I was prepared to leave the Pokemon Center. I went through some woods earlier and my Pokemon were exhausted by the time I entered the city. I thanked the nurse, as she just healed my Pokemon, and began to slowly head out of the Center.

When Professor Araragi gave me my first Pokemon, she told me her opinion of me. "You barely look like you're a good trainer though. I have a lot of doubts giving you this Pokemon, but I can't turn down anyone unless they're planning on intentionally harming them." Wasn't Pokemon fighting intentionally harming them though? You send them out to intentionally harm another Pokemon, then they intentionally harm them back. Little did she know, it was abuse. "I'd be surprised if you got your first gym badge, honestly."

Why did she cast her doubts on me? I was 20 years old; I didn't even know the first thing about Pokemon battling. Most people started out when they were 10 years old (although I think the mothers who would allow their child to go on a journey like this were insane), but I only started when I was 20 because I expressed no interest in battling until then. The only Pokemon we ever had in our household was a Choroneko named Tiggywinkle (ugh), a cat-type Pokemon, but it was only a pet. And it was declawed so it couldn't battle.

Araragi said I didn't really look like Pokemon trainer material as well. I'm what you would call a "bum" or a "loser". I lived with my mother for all of my life, barely held a job (I once worked at the nearest Poke Mart but I was fired due to "incompetence" (also known as laziness) and as a cook at the restaurant near here and my only job was to microwave something and I eventually got fired of that job as well.), did nothing with my high school degree and I barely even took out the trash back at my mom's. All I ever did? Draw. Most of the day, and most of the night. And when I wasn't drawing I was either sleeping the best I could or just slacking off. My sister, who was never interested in Pokemon battling either but was studying for a degree in accounting and business, would always call me a Slakoth. Or, when I was really lazy, a Slaking. I was barely a Vigoroth.

And now, as I'm writing this to you, I wished I did more with my life. I wasn't proud to be a loser. Really, and I repeat, I wished I _did_ more with my life. And it only took my mom to go into a diabetic shock and dying before she even got to the hospital to make me realize that.

I had no choice but to live with my grandparents, but then I moved out when I announced I was going to go on what they called a "Pokemon journey". I really didn't know why I decided to do this, but maybe it was to make a statement. To prove to my mom, even though she was nothing but a tombstone, that I could do something. I never really considered myself smart and no one ever said my drawings were worth any artistic merit. As much as I hated to not get a degree in art (Mostly because my grandparents couldn't afford it whatsoever, they're pretty dirt poor.), I thought going on this adventure was the only thing I could do. Hell, I could probably learn a thing or two. But even when Araragi said those words to me, I never minded them, took my Pokemon, and went. Yes the words did hurt, but sometimes you have to ignore the naysayers and move on. She wasn't the only one who thought this either. My sister also laughed at my suggestion. "You can barely get Tiggywinkle to stop pissing on the floor!" Damn you Tiggywinkle, for making my sister have no faith in me. Like she had any in the first place.

My mother named me Lucius, which meant I was as bright as a star. She was probably expecting a brilliant child, and man, was she ever disappointed. People from my school would comment that it was a pretty name, but that was it. A "pretty name". Someone once said that you if called a rose by any other name it would smell such as sweet. Well, I was called "brilliant and promising" when I was nothing but a disappointment. If you called me something as simple as "Ronald" it wouldn't change anything.

Enough of the boring details about my life. You probably wanted to know about my journey. What Pokemon I caught, how many badges I earned, all that good stuff. Unfortunately, I only had two. But I proved to Araragi wrong at least. She admitted she was impressed, but still didn't really change her opinion of me. Can't make a believer out of everyone I guess.

I only had four Pokemon with me. One of them was just a Minezumi, some rat Pokemon that I named "Chomper" because he always chewed on everything I had whenever I took him out of his Pokeball. He just helped me out with clearing the road whenever I found some kind of obstacle. Otherwise, I wouldn't send him out to a battle at all. He was young, and I didn't really planned for him to be in my team. I heard Minezumis were kind of crappy anyways, and I wasn't going to try to go down that route. At least, not yet I guess.

I left the Pokemon Center, and it was mid-morning, a bright celestial pink surrounding the sky that day. I was prepared to train to fight the gym leader of this city and attempt to get my third badge, proving the professor wrong by the power of three. As I made my way through the city, about to enter another route, I heard a "Get away from me you big ape!"

I ran the best I could, directing myself to the sounds of the yelling. "Go away! I mean it! I'm going to call the cops!"

"No you aren't, sweet cheeks. Just give me a kiss and I promise I'll leave you alone."

"Mijumaru!"

I dashed through a field, no Pokemon bothering to stop me as I saw a teenage girl, wearing shorts that had her pockets hanging out, a black vest and white t-shirt, with a pink Pokeball hat atop her long, silky brown hair that I thought still looked pretty even when this thug was grappling her. This guy looked like a punk, wearing just a large red t-shirt and white shorts, with red beads around his neck. I could understand why she couldn't just fight him off or just take a run for it if she got him to let go: he was very muscular. This guy was obviously eating his Pokewheaties.

"Mijumaru, use Water Gun!"

"Miji!" This weird blue and white otter, with a freckled face and a shell in the middle of his body, sprayed a torrent of water in his face, the guy releasing her from his grip and she sprinted as fast as she could. The strange thing that happened though was she actually saw me. And, for whatever reason, even though I looked like a slacker who just rolled out of bed at 3 PM, she ran towards me and hid behind me. However, she didn't really seem to notice me that much I guess, because she started to command her little otter thing behind me.

"Mijumaru, use Shell Blade! Teach this man to not mess with a girl the wrong way!"

I guess the guy had _really quick _reflexes, because before the dumb-looking otter could get his shell and scratch the guy, he called out a Pokemon.

"You want a Pokemon battle, miss? Alright, if you want to play that way! Go, Zuruggu!"

When the Pokeball's flashing white light began to die down, I was introduced to a Pokemon even stupider than that otter. It was a yellow lizard-like thing, with big round eyes and a stupid, toothy face and stupid, baggy legs. If I wanted to piss the guy off, I would've laughed my ass off at how ridiculous this thing was. I pitied the damned thing at how silly it looked. A lot of trainers probably couldn't take it seriously.

The otter had its shell out, and I also would've laughed at how this stupid thing was scampering to hurt this also stupid thing, but I didn't want to offend the girl either. It was like two ugly kids fighting each other at a playground, and I thought one of them was going to get punched and puke the spaghetti he had for lunch.

But the lizard grabbed the shell with both of its hands, halting the attack. The otter tried to use all of its strength in moving it further, at least to give the yellow ugly kid a scratch, but it was a no go. It was too strong.

"Zuruggu, now scare it with a Scary Face!"

Now the ugly kid became something straight out of a horror movie. Its face became a wicked grin, its eyes looking like they were on fire. I swore that I saw the flames crackling in its ghost-like gaze. It was creepy as hell.

The otter dropped its shell, sounding off a shrill scream. It was paralyzed with fear, and the girl looked concerned as the punk gave off another command.

"Now kick it to kingdom come with a Hi Jump Kick!"

The lizard backed away, then swiftly delivered a powerful kick to the otter's face. And man, that thing flew. It plunged to the ground with a bruised face, looking all beat up. The ugly kid fight was actually more intense than I thought. This Zuruggu was pretty strong.

"Damn it, that was my only Pokemon! Mijumaru, please wake up! Please!" She sounded like she was sobbing as she was practically screaming his name, tears dripping from her eyes.

I had enough of this. It was time for me to take action.

"Hey punk, did they ever teach you to not mess with a lady? I challenge you to a three-on-three Pokemon match. If I get two out of three you better get your ass out of here, you hear me?" I tried to sound tough even though some of the words were getting choked. To tell you the truth, I was scared.

"Oh, look at Mr. Tough Guy, trying to impress a lady! Sure, I'm game, but if I win, I get a kiss from her!"

"Shut up, asshole! Kid, you better kick his ass! I don't want to deal with this creep!" she said to me, as she cradled her Mijumaru in her arms.

I tried to be confident. Really, I tried. I tried to send out my Pokemon like a tough guy, but I ended up stumbling from my throw, as I also bubbled the words, "Go, Crissslash!"

I sent out one of the Pokemon I managed to catch on my journey, a green insect with big wings, standing on its two legs that were dinosaur-like, a spiky face that leered at his Zuruggu, and it had two large scythes as hands, as it began to cross them to intimidate him. He was a Pokemon I managed to catch on my journey, a Scyther I deemed "Crisslash".

He was hard as hell to catch too. He managed to waste a lot of my Great Balls. But I persevered and eventually got him, and on that day I decided he would be a worthy partner. He was definitely a strong fighter, bringing down most of my opponents in one or two slashes from his scythes. He often tried to scare the Pokemon before the fight, showing off its expertise in cutting with its scythes. "Scyther Scythe!" it screeched, but the yellow lizard stood there, unimpressed.

"Crisslash, start everything off with a Quick Attack!"

Crisslash became a green blur, zooming off to the wide-eyed creature. It didn't catch the attack in time, Crisslash tackling it, but it managed to stay put and only skid a few feet, The attack barely gave him a scratch worth writing home about.

"Zuruggu, Dragon Claw! Show it how it's done!"

I didn't even think its fist was going to become a claw. It looked like a small, pudgy thing barely capable of even damaging anything. But as it held it up, I saw it suddenly sprout long, needle-like claws that were reptilian-like, a strange smoky energy emanating from it. The claws were smoking, as if it they were boiling hot, then the lizard with the draconic claws struck, slashing Crisslash across the face.

Crisslash yelped, but still tried to compose himself. When I saw his face though, it was bad. He had a long, dark green scar across his mouth, a darker green, a very dark green that almost looked black, and oozing what seemed to be blood. I can tell that the attack took a lot of energy from him, as he was now huffing and wanting to hold the side of his face, but he knew he couldn't tend to his wound. He still had to fight.

"Crisslash, Night Slash! You can't let him hurt you like that!"

Crisslash stumbled, obviously disorientated from the attack, but he dashed to him, his scythe seething with a black, mystical energy. Zuruggu stood there, not even attempting to run away. This thing was badass and was one of the first enemies I faced who wasn't scared of my Scyther.

It leaped, and with a swift and strong slash, I could see the night sky as it cut into him, a misty dark purple into the blackness, complete with the glowing white stars. It was like I was staring off into the galaxy, but even as I was distracted, the attack still didn't made him move. It only caused a very small scar across his chest, and it barely even bled. The attack barely did anything.

"Ha! Don't you know anything about this Pokemon! Your attack barely did a thing because it's a Dark and Fighting type, and Dark attacks would barely leave a mark! I even knew that!"

_Shut up man. I don't want to hear your lecturing. I heard enough from the second gym leader. I was through with lecturing._

"Zuruggu, now Crunch! Bite it hard!"

Even though my attack barely scarred it, I had one advantage: it wasn't fast. It was scuttling along and seeming like it was ready to trip. Crisslash easily dodged the attack by simply fluttering its wings to make it faster, and moved to the right. The Zuruggu barely noticed it wasn't there anymore as it bit the air, but tasted nothing. It was then that Crisslash could strike, as it struggled around, attempting to get him.

"If Night Slash didn't work, then use Aerial Ace!"

It beat its wings even harder, so much that it became nearly invisible like a humming bird, taking out its claw and slicing some of its face. It wasn't like its last scar: it was a good size, and I could see a large mark from its face. But the damned thing still stood quite still, barely even wobbling around. This thing not only could make a big mark, but it could take a few hits. Maybe a lot more than just a "few".

As it wiped its face, never minding its injury, the punk barked yet another command. "Zuruggu, slow it down with a Scary Face!"

Once again, that damned face. The searing yellow eyes with flames, that toothy grin, and it began to puff itself to make it look bigger.

This was also the first Pokemon that managed to scare my Crisslash. It didn't exactly terrify him, but he began to lose more of his concentration. His eyes kept looking at the spectral face that mocked him, the insect looking like he was going to sweat. Its breathing began to become more hurried, as it still kept the grimace on itself as it slugged towards it. I could hear what seemed to be laughter, but it was actually my opponent.

"Good, Zuruggu! Now finish it off with a Crunch!"

Crisslash didn't see it. I kept screaming at him to move, to at least move an inch, it still stood there, breathing heavily and shaking a little. It was too late for it to move now. It yelled in pain.

It was biting through its leg, some dark green almost black blood seeping through it. He tried to bite and dig in deeper, but as it screamed, I began to feel sick. This damn lizard was too strong for my Crisslash. It was as if it was many levels higher than it, as if the punk raised it to ridiculous standards. I was going to forfeit this first match, but I wasn't going to give up this entire battle.

"Hey, look, that's enough!"

I was shouting pretty loud, probably louder than I ever yelled. The Zuruggu stopped its attack, and even Crisslash looked at me with its eyes, which I could tell were full of anxiety at how much pain it was in right now. The punk looked at me, surprised.

"I'm not going to forfeit this battle, but I want you to take this first win and have us send out our second Pokemon. Is that agreed? I don't think Crisslash can take anymore…"

He glanced at me for a while, then began to snicker a little, slapping his knee. "You're pathetic, kid. You really are, but alright, we'll send out our next Pokemon. Remember, you have one loss stacked against you. One more and you're done!"

The girl began to stare at me nervously. I knew she depended on me, but to let you know, this guy was a good Pokemon trainer, and I wasn't. In fact, I was far from that. I probably only got that two gym badges as a fluke. I barely had skill, and I thought that this man was going to kick my ass.

A red beam came out of the Pokeball, turning the Zuruggu a bright crimson ray of light as it was suddenly sent back to its ball. I did the same for Crisslash, whose blood was no longer dripping from its wounds and was now left tending to them in its Poke Ball.

We both picked out our second Pokemon and sent them out into the field, trying not to let someone see ours first and give our opponent an advantage. "Out with you, now!"

We both saw what we had out. From his Pokeball emerged a blue, ferocious snake, with angry purple eyes and an angry face that gaped at me with its fangs. Its scales shone in the morning sun as it gave off a tremendous roar, trying to scare my Pokemon, which was blue and had black, staticky fur. It was already scared of this immense Pokemon.

The Pokemon he sent out was a Gyarados, while I sent out my Luxio nicknamed Kimba that I also earned on my journey. And I knew although Gyarados was something to reckon, I had an advantage: I knew Luxio was an Electric-type, and Gyarados was Water. I thought I could actually win this, but this man probably raised his Gyarados a lot too.

"Gyarados, strike it down with an Aqua Tail, quick!"

It gave off another roar, its tail starting to


End file.
